Amherst Select Board sends letter of sympathy to Newtown community

Angels and a note blessing victims rest on the ground at the site of a makeshift memorial for school shooting victims at the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Select Board chairwoman Stephanie J. O'Keeffe said she had attended two vigils on Saturday, the night after the shootings.

"People were talking so much about it," O'Keeffe said. "We all identify and empathize with what happened there and how much we want to be able to reach out anyway we can."

She drafted a letter that the board supported and signed. Here is the full text of the letter, which has also been posted to the town's website:

December 17, 2012

To Ms. E. Patricia Llodra and members of the Board of Selectmen, on behalf of the community of Newtown:

On behalf of the community of Amherst, Massachusetts, we, the Amherst Select Board, offer our deepest sympathies for the heartbreaking tragedy that has befallen your town. Please know that the people of Amherst weep and grieve with you.

We honor you with prayers, with vigils, with acts of kindness, and with efforts to prevent future gun violence and to improve resources for treating mental illness.

We salute the brave men and women of your emergency responder forces for their courageous acts, and wish them solace for all that they have had to endure.

We ache for the teachers, administrators, staff and families of your school system. There are no words.

We recognize and appreciate how much your own leadership means to your community right now, and we wish you great strength in that.